Leadership, and the Fight Against Human Trafficking

A key leadership trait is the ability to adapt to change. This ability is vital not only for executive leadership, but also for anyone involved in program management.

For example, over the past several years the number of federally-funded anti-human trafficking task forces has decreased, and this has created both challenges and opportunities for law enforcement agencies in their response to modern slavery. But how to respond to these changes is not the responsibility of the executive staff alone. In fact, adapting any program to new challenges is most likely the responsibility of the program manager. This is an excellent example of how leadership is practiced at all levels of an organization and, more importantly, how the leadership skills of managers impact an entire organization.

This is an article I wrote for The Police Chief magazine, and it examines how local law enforcement agencies have adapted to several changes in the anti-trafficking environment; not only the shift of responsibility from larger, federally-funded task forces to smaller, more localized, responses, but also as our understanding of the dynamics of trafficking has changed over the past several years.

The article can be beneficial for those involved in the fight against human trafficking, and also for any leader seeking examples of how leaders and agencies can adapt to changing circumstances.